Where does “brilliance” come from?
Brilliance comes from French brillance, formed with the French suffix -ance from Latin -antia, ultimately deriving from Latin beryllus, a precious stone borrowed from Ancient Greek βήρυλλος, which came from Sanskrit वैडूर्य via Pali veḷuriya.
brilliance (English): The quality of being exceptionally effulgent; The...
Definitions
- The quality of being exceptionally effulgent; The...
Ancestry of “brilliance”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | brilliant | Shining brightly; Both bright and saturated;... |
| 2 | French | brillant | shining; shiny; present participle of briller |
| 3 | French | briller | to shine, to sparkle |
| 4 | Italian | brillare | to shine, to glisten, to sparkle or twinkle; to... |
| 5 | Latin | bēryllus | — |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | βήρυλλος | beryl |
| 7 | Prakrit | विरलायते | — |
| 8 | Sanskrit | वैडूर्य | cat's eye; a jewel; anything excellent of its... |
| 9 | Pali | veḷuriya | lapis lazuli, a precious stone |
| 10 | Pali | veḷur | white town |